


How Jou Kido saved Christmas

by EveandJohnny



Category: Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Gen, New Digimon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 03:52:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13115409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveandJohnny/pseuds/EveandJohnny
Summary: Jou is buried in school work but Gomamon and Taichi can convince him to accompany the 02 kids on a trip to the Digital World. In the end, this proves to be a very sensible decision for everyone.





	How Jou Kido saved Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> For trilea as part of the Digimon Secret Santa Event 2017 over on tumblr.
> 
> And to everyone who reads it: Happy Holidays!

„Jou, why do you even try to argue? You should be honoured that we have so much trust in you!” Taichi grinned from ear to ear as he crouched on the floor beside Jou’s desk.

“But I don’t have the time! Why can you not understand this?” Jou threw his hands in the air, exasperated. He was trying to get this across for the last half hour now. But Taichi was either too oblivious to notice or he didn’t care about Jou’s problems.

“That’s exactly the point. You’re drowning yourself in work and one day, probably sooner than later, you will have lost all your happiness. It’s like you have sold your soul to become a doctor and with every paper you write it gets sucked out of you a little more.”

Jou thought that this probably was exactly what studying for high school entrance exams felt like but he didn’t say anything. Instead he looked over to Gomamon sitting beside Taichi on a pillow.

“What Taichi is trying to express, I think, is that you need a break, take some time-out from your studies. It can only be good for you as it clears your head and gives you fresh energy to continue” was not what Jou wanted to hear from his partner, though.

“Thank you, Gomamon!” Taichi exclaimed and patted him affectionately on the head.

“Why do you always have to stab me in the back?” Jou heaved a sigh and buried his head in his hands.

“I’m not stabbing you in the back. I only want the best for you!” Gomamon pouted. “I’m worried about your health.”

“See, me too! Deep down in your heart, you know that it’s going to be fun. Pull yourself together and go with the kids.” Taichi gifted Jou with the sweetest smile he possessed.

Jou let a dramatic moment of silence pass before he sighed. “Fine. You said it’s tomorrow?”

Taichi beamed. “Yes, at three p.m. Thank you so much, Jou!” He sprang up and leaped over to Jou’s chair where he slapped him amicably on the back. Jou sputtered theatrically though he couldn’t help but grin. He actually could use a break at the moment. “Well, my work here is done, I’m off. And don’t forget: They’re going to meet in front of their school!” Taichi called from the door before it shut behind him.

When Jou turned to Gomamon he saw his partner smiling happily at him.

“Very good, Jou, I’m proud of you. You can’t always let your friends down, no matter how important studying is.”

Jou sighed. “Yeah, I know that you’re right. Do you want to come with me?”

“I am scandalised that you even feel the need to ask!”

***

“Jou, we’re going to be late!” Gomamon whined.

Jou panted, hitting the pedals of his bike harder. “I know but you stating the obvious doesn’t make us quicker.”

Gomamon eyed him indignantly. “You want me to shut up? Fine!” He clasped his paws in front of his body and stared straight ahead.

Jou cursed, though only in his head. “Listen, Gomamon, that’s not what I -“

Gomamon held up his paw to silence him. “Talk to the hand, as people would say” he said dignified without looking at Jou.  
  
Ten minutes later they arrived at the school gates drenched in sweat - well, Jou was. Gomamon jumped from the handlebars to greet the other Digimon.

“Man, where have you been? We were just debating to send a search party looking for you.” Daisuke greeted him by hitting him on the back.

“Ouch, stop that! It’s enough that I can’t get it out of Taichi. I don’t need you to copy him.”

Hikari stepped beside him and gently laid her hand on his arm. “Thanks for coming with us.”

He gave her a smile. “See, why can’t you all be grateful like Hikari is?”

“Well, I think it’s enough when one of us voices what we all think.” Takeru flashed him a toothy smile, the one that made all the girls in school swoon. But it had not the desired effect on Jou.

“Why don’t we just get going?” he said and gestured to the school building. He quickly glanced over to Miyako and Iori who had waved when he’d come into view but otherwise paid no attention to him. Strange, he thought, as especially Miyako usually seemed very eager to chat to him. Iori was much shyer and quieter. Though he fondly remembered the time when Iori had needed three attempts to properly introduce himself to Jou, for accuracy’s sake. He liked them both very much even though they weren’t talking to him at the moment.

Inside the computer room it was cool and dry – quite a contrast to the hot and humid weather outside. Miyako positioned herself in front of the PC and typed in the access code, then opened the gate to the DigitalWorld. She stepped aside to let Daisuke go first, raised her arm and yelled “Chosen Children, let’s ro-” Suddenly, she stopped when she saw an irregularity popping up on the screen. But before she could hold Daisuke back he had already vanished through the gate. Naturally, Miyako looked to the eldest, consulting his advice.

“Er, well, whatever this is on the screen: it could be threatening. But we can’t leave Daisuke behind. And when we all go together it is more likely to survive - this” he said after a moment of consideration.

“I agree” Hikari said “We can’t leave Daisuke to his own devices.”

“Don’t let him hear that you worried about him. Otherwise he’s going to pester you with date invitations again” Iori muttered to himself but only Upamon heard it. Meanwhile, the others had lined up in front of the computer to get sucked into the Digital World.  


Yet another extreme climate change welcomed them when they landed hard on something cold but fluffy.

“Boohoo, why is it so cold? I thought this was one of the temperate zones.” Davis greeted them with clattering teeth and he trembled like a leaf.

Miyako suspiciously eyed the map of the Digital World on her messenger. “Actually, yes it is. But there is a malfunction somewhere in this direction.” She pointed towards a hill a little further away from them.

“So we should go investigating?” Takeru asked and squinted when he looked at the hill.  

Daisuke nodded fiercely. “Let’s go! Then we’ll probably also get warmer.”

They trudged up the hill, staying close together to try and not let slip away that little bit of warmth they still had. When they had reached the summit they saw a nomadic settlement consisting of a dozen little yurt-like huts from which columns of smoke rose.

“What do you think this is?” Takeru asked.

Daisuke shrugged. “I don’t know but it looks like a Digimon village. Maybe they have some hot drinks for us.” Before anyone could approve, V-mon and he were sliding down the snowy slope. The other DigiDestined followed with Jou and Gomamon as rear guards.

 In the village it was strangely quiet. Apart from the smoke rising there was no sign of life anywhere.

“Do you think it’s uninhabited?” Iori asked after they had had a good look around.

“I doubt that. They surely wouldn’t leave their hearths burning” Miyako explained.

“Why don’t we just knock?” Hikari suggested and went to one of the huts. Before she could knock, however, all the doors opened at once and Digimon they’d never seen before jumped out, yelling “Merry Christmas!” Then they said in unison “Christmas Cracker!” Sparks of colourful light exploded around the DigiDestined and left them blinded for the moment.

The next thing they knew, they found themselves in the biggest hut. In front of them stood several festively illuminated Yule trees and heaps of wrapped-up presents lay beneath them. In-between the trees a cosy fireplace was burning.

“Is this a dream?” asked Daisuke who had been the first to recover from the attack.

“I doubt it is. It’s - hey, we’re chained up!” Miyako exclaimed when she tried to get up. The others uttered sounds of dismay as well.

Suddenly a deep voice came from behind one of the trees. “Merry Christmas, everyone. You are the honoured guests in the long Christmas tradition of ours. Please feel just like home, the great feast will start shortly.” One of the Digimon emerged and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture. It was forest green, about as tall as the other Rookie Digimon and wore what looked like a Santa-Claus-costume. It even had a white beard.

Daisuke squinted angrily and tore at his chains. “Why did you lock us up here?” He groped around in his pocket but there was nothing. “And where are our DigiVices?” he growled.

The Digimon shrugged unimpressed. “We just wanted to make sure you stay calm during the festivities.” It started to waddle towards the door when Hikari suddenly asked, her voice raised in confusion “Where’s Jou?” She looked angrily over to the Digimon.

“Who is Jou? We only brought you five here.” With that he finally left them. DigiDestined exchanged glances.

“When Jou’s not here, maybe he could escape the attack and is now about to rescue us!” Takeru sounded very hopeful.

“Or the Digimon was lying and they have carried him off to do unspeakable things to him.”

“Iori!” Hikari was shocked.

“Everybody, please calm down. I’m sure that they don’t have Jou. I also found out who these Digimon are. They’re called Kurisumasumon and all their attacks are Christmas-based. I’m afraid that their goal is to make Christmas all year round” Miyako tried to settle the situation.

“Goodness! But that doesn’t sound really threatening, does it?” Takeru tried again to free himself from the, admittedly, cushioned, handcuffs.

“Have you seen ‘Donald Duck Stuck on Christmas’? I suppose it wouldn’t be too pleasant. But it seems that we can’t do much here anyway” Iori observed and his tone was just a tiny little bit snide.

***

“Do you see anything?” Jou called quietly over to Gomamon who was shuffling hectically between the little huts from one hiding spot to the other.

“No, they are all empty” Gomamon replied in a similar hushed voice.

Suddenly _Santa Claus is coming to town_ rang out from close by. Gomamon quickly dug a hole in the powdery snow and hid from view as the Kurisumasumon rounded the next hut, singing at the top of their lungs.

“Quick, in behind them!” Gomamon waved Jou to him. Stooped, he followed his partner and saw how the Digimon disappeared in the biggest hut of the settlement. When the curtain closed behind them, the singing suddenly stopped. “I reckon that the others are in there. But how do we get in?” Gomamon frowned.

Jou was eyeing another hut carefully and didn’t answer.

“Have you heard me?” Gomamon asked a little annoyed.

“I have. I was just thinking about a plan.”

“Jou! Why so rash all of a sudden?” Gomamon didn’t sound concerned, he was hinting at Jou’s usually cautious behaviour.

Jou ignored the comment. Instead, he marched to one of the abandoned yurts.

“Hey Jou, wait for me!” Gomamon had trouble keeping up with the suddenly very determined Jou.

***

Hikari watched with alarm as more and more Kurisumasumon poured into the hut. “What do they want from us?” she whispered in Takeru’s ear.

“I’m not sure but we’re probably not gonna like it” he replied quietly.

The Digimon with the white beard strode up to the front of his congeners and clasped his hands. "Dear children, we welcome you in Kurisumasumon Village. Without further ado, let us now start with this year’s celebrations. Though we like to say that all year is the time to celebrate.” It chuckled  evilly and waddled to the side. Then it raised its arm and solemnly announced “Bell Hammer”. The whole Digimon group started singing _Jingle Bells_ in ear deafening volume.

The Chosen Children were unable to cover their ears and had to endure the torture.

“Stop it!” Daisuke cried but the Kurisumasumon wouldn’t listen.

***

The DigiDestined had their eyes screwed shut so they couldn’t see the awe and horror that suddenly appeared on the faces of the Kurisumasumon. But they could certainly hear how they suddenly stopped singing. Cautiously, they popped their eyes open but couldn’t really believe them.

“Hohoho, merry Christmas everybody!” Santa Claus himself had entered the hut, and even though it was the biggest in the settlement it still was too small to house him entirely. He had to stand stooped. That, however, didn’t diminish his presence and authority. The Kurisumasumon shrunk under his intense gaze. “I’ve come to reward you with presents. But what do I have to see?” he asked with a booming voice and the Digimons bowed even lower. “You have captured a group of children! You have been very naughty. I can surely not tolerate such behaviour. My dear little helper, bring the birch. Naughty Digimons don’t deserve presents.”

Hikari was the first to recognize Gomamon in his elf costume but she could hide her face quickly enough in Takeru’s shoulder before the snort could escape her mouth.

“No! Please, don’t punish us! We will free the children and invite them to our feast! And you, Great Santa Claus, are invited, too!” The Elder had fallen to his knees and curtseyed low before the man the Kurisumasumon treated like God.

Santa Claus shook his head. “I have to reject your offer unfortunately. There are more Digimons in the Digital World longingly waiting for their presents. Goodbye and I hope that this will be a lesson to you.” He turned but before he left the yurt he hesitated and said, “And I will hear about it when you don’t free the children. And give them their DigiVices back immediately.” Then he went outside, his little helper at his heels.

“Well, why do you hesitate? You’ve heard Santa!” the Elder demanded and quickly a handful of Digimon scrambled to their feet to remove the handcuffs. A couple more came with a bag and handed out the DigiVices. Once the DigiDestined were free, they hurried to the exit. “What about the feast?” the Elder cried.

Miyako answered “We’re so sorry but we have to go. We still have important business to attend.” Then she ran after her friends who were already halfway through the village.

At the top of the hill Jou and Gomamon were already waiting for them.

“That was, huh, brilliant, Jou!” Hikari complimented him, gasping for air.

“Yeah, man, very cheeky” Takeru remarked and punched him cordially on the upper arm.

When she caught Gomamon’s pout Hikari quickly added “And you were awesome, too. You made a very convincing elf.”

Gomamon seemed to grow several inches under her praise. “Yes, I’m a handsome elf!”

The Chosen Children and their Digimon started to laugh, and Jou shot him a funny look. But a smile tucked at the corner of his mouth and internally he was very proud of his partner.


End file.
